Protective covering for vacuum cleaners



' a sh ets-shat 1 wilfred a La ina Filed Nov 17, 1938 W O LANGILLE PROTECTIVE COVERING FOR VACUUM CLEANERS May 13-, 1941. w. o. LANGILLE. I 2 9 PROTECTIVE COVERING-FOR VACUUM CLEANERS I Filed Nov. 17, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z3 lmlllllllll4l IIIIIIII l ncij:

WW WW Patented Ma 13, 1941 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE.

nausea rnornc'rrvs oovaamc FonviicUUM CLEANERS 1g, 7 Wilfred 0. Langille, Chester, N. .L, assignor to The Singer Manuiacturing Company, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Elizabeth,

' Application November 17, 1938, SeriaiNo. 40,945

Claims.

to prevent marring' of the vacuum cleaners by reason of such cont-act.

Heretofore it has been customary to provide vacuum cleaners with relatively narrow rubber bumpers extending horizontally about the nozzles of the cleaners. While bumpers ofthat type prevented contact of the vacuum cleaner nozzle with substantially vertical surfaces, such for example as the base-board about a room and those portions of furniture which rest directly upon the floor, they did not prevent contact of the upper portions of the vacuum cleaner casing with those portions of furniture which are spaced slightly above the floor and under which it is not uncommon to attempt to push' the vacuum cleaner. As is well understood, this inadverent contact of the vacuum cleaner with articles of furniture and the like is destructive to both the furniture and the cleaner.

This invention has as an object to provide a protective covering for both the nozzle and the main casing of the vacuum cleaner which will prevent damage to both the cleaner and the objects with which the cleanerinadvertenly comes into contact.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protective covering for vacuum cleaners which will snugly fit the curved contours of the cleaner,

which may be removably secured thereto, and i which will add to, rather than detract from, the appearance of the cleaner.

' Another object is to provide a protective covering as above described which may be made and attached at a minimum of expense. This has been attained by constructing the covering of two major portions of "moulded rubber, one adapted to cover the cleaner nozzle and the other adapted to overlie the first named portion and to extend upwardly therefrom and to cover the main casing of the cleaner.

Still another object of the invention is to provide improved and simplified means for removably securing the protective covering to the vacuum cleaner casing.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations, and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a'preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the'several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vacuum cleaner 'embodyingthe present invention, portions of the handle bail and the dust bag being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cleaner shown in Fig. 1, with the handle bail complete but with the handle proper broken away.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the cleaner shown in Fig. 1.

Fig, 4 is an inverted plan view of that por-' tion of the protective covering which embraces the vacuum cleaner nozzle. 7

Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view of that portion ofthe covering which protects the main casing of the cleaner.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-45 of Fig. 2 showing the means for securing the protective covering to the main casing.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2. c

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9' is a detail bottom view of a portion of Y the vacuum cleaner casing and a portion of the nozzle cover secured thereto showing the means employed for removably securing the two to ball 5 and a handle proper 6 fitted therein, for

manually propelling the cleaner over the surface to be cleaned. Secured to the rear end of the casing C is a dust bag I, a portion only of which is shown.

As shown most clearly in Figs; 4 and 5, the improved protective covering comprises one main shoe-like section A of flexible moulded rubber adapted to be removably secured upon the transverse nozzle 2, and a tongue-like section B, also of flexible moulded rubber, which is adapted to extend upwardly from the section A and overlie the hood 3. The section A, in its normal une- -flexed condition, as shown in Fig. 4, is of gen erally rectangular shape and comprises hood-like end portions 8, an intermediate or face portion 9, which connects the end portions 8, and flexible leg portions l which are adapted to be secured to the sides of the body portion I of the main casing C. When the section A is applied to the cleaner, the portions 8 ofthe cover sub-f stantially enclose the end-portions of the" nozzle except for the open under side thereof. The intermediate portion 9 of the section A is adapted to'cover the forward face and a portion of the upper suprface of the nozzle, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The legs l0 are provided at their lower edges with integrally formed L-shaped projections II, which are adapted to engage the lower the hood, as shown most clearlyin Figs. 6 and '7, to secure the cover section B thereto.

The sections A and B are preferably provid with surface ornamentation -in the nature of beads and ribs which improve the-appearance of the cover and therefore add to the attractiveness of the cleaner as a whole.

edge portions of the vertical side walls 12 of the body-portion I to help maintain the cover section- A on the nozzle. At opposite. sides of its center,-the cover section Ais formed with' two 'upwardlyextending ribs l3 between which the outwardly flared portion iii of the anchor-plate In certain makes of vacuum cleaners the hood which overlies the fan-driving motor is'fo'rmed with one or more apertures to permit radiation of the heat which is generated by the motor.

Such apertures'are shown in Figs. 2 and 6 as. comprising slots separated by a central rib 3|. To the end that the cover section B will not interfere with such radiation, it is formed with anopening 32 which overlies the. slots 30 in the hood when the protective covering is secured upon the cleaner casing.

, From the foregoing it will be perceived that .this invention has provided a protective covering which may readily-be applied to or removed from a vacuum cleaner and when applied'thereto will protectboth the cleanerand any object with which the cleaner may inadvertently come is adapted to engagewithin channels i'l moulded in the lower portion of the cover section A at opposite sides of the reduced mid-portion l4, thereby to prevent the cover section A riding .up on the nozzle. The screws 15 also serve to secure the forward end of the hood 3" to the nozzle.

After the cover section A has been secured to the nozzle, the tongue-section B is applied to the hood 3 with the lower end thereof overlying the sectionA and secured to the nozzle. As shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and 6, the upper end of the tongue-section has moulded therein a sheetmetal hook-dike element I6 which is adapted-to engage within an aperture l9 formed in the hood 3, thereby to hold the upper end-of the section in contact with the hood. The. lower end of the tongue-section is formed with a groove 20 into which the lower edge of the plate I6 is adapted to engage, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby to secure the lower end of the tongue-section to the cleaner. formed on its inner face with a transverse chan- Adjacent its lower end the section B is into contact during normal operation of the cleaner.

Having thus set forththe nature of theinvention what I claimherein is:

1. In combination with a vacuum cleaner having a casing including a nozzle .and a hood, a

two-part protective covering of' relatively soft moulded material .comprising one preformed moulded section adapted to be secured-horizon' tally about said nozzle, said section being formed substantially mid-way between its ends with a portion reduced in both width and thickness, and a second preformed moulded section adapted to be secured to said casing and toe'xtend from adjacent the lower edge of said nozzle upwardly to overlie said nozzle and hood, said second sec-- tion having adjacent its lower end and on its inner face a transverse, channel adapted to receive' the reduced portion of said first section,

whereby the combined thickness of the overlapped portions of the two sections equals substantially the major thickness of the flrstsection, and means for reinovably securing said sections to said casing.

nel 2| adapted to receive the reduced portion M of the section A. As shown by Fig. 6,' the combined thicknesses of the portion M of section A a and the section B adjacent the channel 2! equal thethickness of the adjacent portions of the tongue-section and therefore the outer curved contour of the tongue-section is smooth and unbroken. Intermediate its ends, the section B is 22 adapted to receive and frictionallyhold a metal grill 23 which prevents accidental contact with an electric illuminating lamp L locat- 'ed-therebehind. w

To hold the mid-portion of the cover section B in contact with the hood 3, the cover section is formed with inturned hook-like extensions 24 and 25 located adjacent the upper and lower ehds, respectively, of the opening 22 therein, and similar extensions 28 and 2-1 at the opposite sides of said opening. These hook-like extensions project through a substantially rectangular-opening Z in the hood 3 and engage the inner face of formed with a substantially rectangular opening 2. In combination with a vacuum cleaner having a casing including a nozzle'and a hood, a horizontally disposed sheet-metal anchor-strip secured to the outer surface of the forward wall of said nozzle, said anchor-strip having an outwardly flared and downwardly extending lower edge portion, a protective covering of relatively soft moulded material comprising a first section extending horizontally about said nozzle and having portions at its ends adaptedto grip the side walls of said casing, said section also gripping the end portions of said anchor-strip to hold the section on the nozzle, and a second section overlying the mid-portion of said first section ande'ngaging the flared portion of said anchor-strip substantially midway between its ends, said secand section extendin'gupwardly from the first section and overlying said hood, and means for securing the upper end of said second section to said hood.

3. A protective covering for a' vacuum cleaner casing having a nozzle and a hood comprising a first cover section having hood-like end'portions adapted to embrace the end portions of the cleaner nozzle and a mideportion, reduced in both width and thickness, connecting said end portions and adapted tovcover the forward face and a portion of the upper face of the nozzle, 2. second cover section having a portion overlying and interlocking with the reduced mid-portion of the first cover section and extending transversely thereof and adapted to overlie the hood portion 5 of the cleaner, and means carried by said cover sections and adapted to cooperate with portions of the vacuum cleaner to secure the protective covering to the cleaner casing. v i I 4. A protective covering for a vacuum cleaner 10 casing having a. nozzle and a hood, said hood beingjprovided with an aperture adapted to permit passage of light from a lamp located within said casing, said covering comprising a shoelike section of relatively soft resilient moulded l5 'material adapted to substantially embrace the cleaner nozzle, a tongue-like section of relatively soft resilient moulded material extending upwardly and transversely of the first mentioned section and adapted to overlie the hood portion 20 o! the casing, said tonguealike section being provided with an aperture aligned with the aperture in said hood and adapted to receive and hold a lamp-protecting grill, and means carried by said cover sections and'adapted to cooperate with portions of the vacuum. cleaner casing to secure the protective covering to the cleaner casing.

5. A protective covering for a vacuum cleaner casing having a nozzle and a hood comprising a portions adapted to embrace the end portions of the cleaner nozzle and a mid-portion connecting said end portions and adapted to substantially cover the forward and upper faces of the nozzle, said mid portion being locally reduced in width and. thickness, a second cover section having-a portion embracing the reduced portion of the 'first' cover section of moulded rubber havingeigd 

